Legal Protection of Life in the Constitutions of the Republic of Poland of March 17, 1921 and April 2, 1997

Abstract

The issue of legal protection of life from Article 38 of the 1997 Constitution is one of the most important dilemmas of modern Polish law. This issue was already regulated in the March Constitution. The purpose of the article is to present the normative content of the legal protection of life on the basis of both constitutions. The research objective is to determine the importance of the two constitutions in providing legal protection of life in the context of the tasks of the ordinary legislature and the importance of judicial decisions. The text confronts the assumptions of the system legislator with lower–level regulations. Particular attention has been paid to the issue of assessing the compatibility of these solutions with the constitution’s design. Consideration was given to the influence of international organizations on the content and implementation of the protection of life in the Polish legal order. The study includes an analysis of the literature on the subject. The dogmatic and historical-legal method was used. The deliberations take into account the weaknesses and strengths of entrusting the judiciary with the constitutional task of defining the normative content of the protection of life. Contemporary public disputes in this matter should prompt greater efforts in clarifying constitutional solutions. It is worth bearing in mind the experience of the 1921 Constitution.